A restaurant owner in Jerez de la Frontera has published her daily expenses to defend charging 12 euros for a medium pizza.
The proprietor of Restaurante Maricela revealed in a video that maintaining her operations costs more than 1,500 euros every day before purchasing any food ingredients.
Jerez de la Frontera is a city in Andalusia in southwestern Spain, where local bars and restaurants form a key part of the regional economy. Debate among Spanish consumers has focused on whether 12 euros represents a fair price for a casual meal.
Staffing and Labour Costs
The business owner explained that her largest single daily expense is her workforce. Paying salaries and mandatory Social Security contributions for a staff of 16 people costs an average of 800 euros per day.
The restaurant employs 10 waiters and six cooks to maintain service standards. She noted that human labor accounts for more than half of the initial fixed cost required to open the doors each morning.
In Spain, employers must pay monthly Social Security contributions for every contracted worker to fund healthcare, pensions, and unemployment insurance. These statutory charges add significantly to baseline payroll expenses for hospitality operators.
Raw Materials and Utilities
Ingredient expenses form the second major pillar of daily spending. The owner said that for a restaurant to remain commercially viable, raw material purchases must not exceed 30 percent of total daily turnover.
She added that ingredient costs previously ran between 34 percent and 35 percent of sales. Her team managed to trim that figure down to the 30 percent threshold by improving kitchen and inventory efficiency.
Under this financial formula, if the restaurant takes in 2,000 euros in a single day, 600 euros goes directly to buying food products. Essential utility bills add further daily costs, including 120 euros for electricity, 20 euros for gas, and 10 euros for water and waste management.
Administrative and Hidden Expenses
Beyond food and staffing, the owner detailed a series of fixed operational expenses that consumers rarely see. These include technical hardware such as office computers, mobile order terminals, and kitchen printers.
She highlighted marketing as a crucial component for keeping customers coming through the door. Administrative overhead requires a dedicated office team of three people, alongside ongoing transaction fees for card payment processing terminals.
Weekend Sales and Business Viability
The proprietor admitted that weekday trade frequently fails to balance the books. The business relies on stronger sales during the weekend to make up for weekday shortfalls and achieve overall profitability.
With 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry, she expressed confidence in the long term viability of her business despite continuous financial pressures. She said she remains satisfied with the work her team performs every day.
She concluded her breakdown by asking consumers whether charging 12 euros for a medium pizza still seemed expensive once the full reality of 1,500 euros in daily fixed costs was taken into account.
